The Little Swift (Apus
affinis J.E. Gray, 1830) has very
short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The
scientific name comes from the Greek απους, apous,
meaning "without feet". They never settle voluntarily on the ground. Little
Swifts breed around habitation and cliffs from southern Spain,Africa northeastwards through southern Pakistan and India and Sri Lanka. Unlike
the more northerly Common Swift, many
birds are resident, but some populations are migratory, and
winter further south than their breeding areas. They wander widely on
migration, and are seen as rare vagrants in much of Europe and Asia. Little Swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living
on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing, but roost on
vertical cliffs or walls. They are notoriously slow risers in the mornings
(Wikipedia).

The Rock Pigeon or
Rock
Dove (Columba liviaGmelin, 1789) is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, this bird
is often simply referred to as the "pigeon" (Wikipedia). The species includes the domestic pigeon (including
the fancy pigeon),
and escaped domestic pigeons have given rise to feral populations around
the world. Wild Rock Doves are pale grey with two black bars on each wing,
although domestic and feral pigeons are very
variable in colour and pattern. There are few visible differences between males
and females. The species is generally monogamous, with
two squeakers (young) per brood.
Both parents care for the young for a time (Wikipedia). Habitats include
various open and semi-open environments. Cliffs and
rock ledges are used for roosting and breeding in the wild. Originally found
wild in Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, feral pigeons have become
established in cities around the world. The species is abundant, with an
estimated population of 17 to 28 million feral and wild birds in Europe
(Wikipedia).

The Black
Kite (Milvus migransBoddaert, 1783) is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae,
which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's
most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have
experienced dramatic declines or fluctuations. Current global population
estimates run up to 6 million individuals. Unlike others of the group, Black
Kites are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a
lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their angled
wing and distinctive forked tail make them easy to identify. This kite is widely distributed
through the temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and parts of Australasia and Oceania, with the temperate region
populations tending to be migratory. Several subspecies are recognized and
formerly had their own English names. The European populations are small, but
the South Asian population is very large (Wikipedia).

Black Kites can be distinguished from Red Kites (Milvus
milvus) by the slightly smaller size, less forked tail (visible in
flight), and generally dark plumage without any rufous. The sexes are alike.
The upper plumage is brown but the head and neck tend to be paler. The patch
behind the eye appears darker. The outer flight feathers are black and the
feathers have dark cross bars and are mottled at the base. The lower parts of
the body are pale brown, becoming lighter towards the chin. The body feathers
have dark shafts giving it a streaked appearance. The cere and gape are yellow,
but the bill is black (unlike in the Yellow-billed Kite). The legs are yellow and the claws are black. They have a
distinctive shrill whistle followed by a rapid whinnying call (Wikipedia).

The Desert
Locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forsskål, 1775) is a species of locust. Plagues of desert locusts have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least
one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious
insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly
rapidly across great distances. It has two to five generations per year.
The last major desert locust upsurge in 2004–05 caused significant crop losses in West Africa and had a negative impact
on food security in
the region. While the desert locust alone is not responsible for famines, it
can be an important contributing factor (Wikipedia).

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria)
lives a solitary life until it
rains. Rain causes vegetation growth and allows the female to lay eggs in the
sandy soil. The new vegetation provides food for the newly hatched locusts and
provides them with shelter as they develop into winged adults (Wikipedia). When vegetation is distributed in
such a way that allow the nymphs, usually called hoppers, to congregate, and there
has been sufficient rain for most eggs to hatch, the close physical contact
causes the insects' hind legs to bump against one another. This stimulus triggers a cascade of metabolic and behavioral changes that cause the insects
to transform from the solitary form to the gregarious form.
When the hoppers become gregarious, they change from green-coloured to yellow
and black, and the adults change from brown to red (immature) or yellow
(mature). Their bodies become shorter, and they give off a pheromone that causes them to be attracted to each
other, enhancing hopper band and subsequently swarm formation.
Interestingly, the nymphal pheromone is different from the adult one. When
exposed to the adult pheromone, hoppers become confused and disoriented,
because they can apparently no longer "smell" each other, though the
visual and tactile stimuli remain. After a few days, the hopper bands
disintegrate and those that escape predation become solitary again. It is
possible that this effect could aid locust control in the future.

During quiet periods, called
recessions, desert locusts are confined to a 16-million-square-kilometer belt
that extends from Mauritania through the Sahara Desert in northern Africa, across the Arabian Peninsula, and into northwest India. Under
optimal ecological and climatic conditions, several successive generations can
occur, causing swarms to form and invade countries on all sides of the
recession area, as far north as Spain and Russia, as far
south as Nigeria and Kenya, and as
far east as India and southwest Asia. As many
as 60 countries can be affected within an area of 32 million square kilometers,
or approximately 20 percent of the Earth's land surface (Wikipedia).

Locust swarms fly with the wind at roughly the speed of
the wind. They can cover from 100 to 200 kilometers in a day, and will fly up
to about 2,000 meters above sea level (thereafter, it becomes too cold).
Therefore, swarms cannot cross tall mountain ranges such as the Atlas Mountains, the Hindu Kush or the Himalayas. They will not venture into the
rain forests of Africa or into central Europe. However, locust adults and
swarms regularly cross the Red Sea between Africa and the
Arabian Peninsula, and are even reported to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the Caribbean in ten days during the
1987-89 plague. A single swarm can cover up to 1200 square kilometers and
can contain between 40 and 80 million locusts per square kilometer. The locust
can live between three to six months, and there is a ten to 16-fold increase in
locust numbers from one generation to the next (Wikipedia).

5- Housefly (Musca
domestica Linnaeus, 1758) الذبابة المنزلية

The Housefly(Musca domesticaLinnaeus, 1758) is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is the
most common of all domestic flies, accounting for about 91% of all flies in
human habitations, and indeed one of the most widely distributed insects, found
all over the world. It is considered a pest that can carry serious diseases
(Wikipedia).

The adults are about 5–8 mm
long. Their thorax is gray or sometimes even
black, with four longitudinal dark lines on the back. The whole body is covered
with hair-like projections. The females are slightly larger than the males, and
have a much larger space between their red compound eyes. The mass of pupae can range from about 8 to
20 mg under different conditions (Wikipedia).

Like other Diptera (meaning
"two-winged"), houseflies have only one pair of wings; the hind pair is reduced to small halteres that aid in flight stability.
Characteristically, the media vein (M1+2 or fourth long vein of the wing) shows a sharp
upward bend (Wikipedia).

6- Domestic Cat (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) القطة المنزلية

The Domestic Cat (Felis catus or Felis silvestris catusLinnaeus, 1758) is a small, usually furry, domesticated, and carnivorousmammal. It is
often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet, or
simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from
other felids and felines. Cats are often valued by humans for companionship
and their ability to hunt vermin and
household pests (Wikipedia).

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible
bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing
small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high
in frequency for human ears, such as
those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like
most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans (Wikipedia).

Since cats were cult animals in
ancient Egypt, they
were commonly believed to have been domesticated there, but there may have been
instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic from around 9500 years ago (7500 BC).

A genetic study in 2007 concluded
that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC,
in the Near East. According to “Scientific American”, cats are the most popular pet
in the world, and are now found in almost every place where humans live
(Wikipedia).

7- Arabian
Baboon (Papio hamadryas Linnaeus, 1758) قرد الرباح العربي

The Arabian or hamadryas baboon (Papio
hamadryas) is a species of baboon from the Old World monkey family.
It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and
the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. These
regions provide habitats with the advantage for this species of fewer natural
predators than central or southern Africa where other baboons reside. The
hamadryas baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians and
appears in various roles in ancient Egyptian religion, hence its alternative name of 'sacred baboon'
(Wikipedia).

Apart from the striking size
difference between the sexes (males are often twice as large as females), which
is common to all baboons, this species also shows sexual dimorphism in coloration. The fur of males is
silver-white in color and they have a pronounced cape (mane and mantle) which
they develop around the age of ten, while the females are capeless and brown.
Their faces range in color from red to tan to a dark brown (Wikipedia).

Males may have a body measurement
of up to 80 cm (31 in) and weigh 20–30 kg (44–66 lb);
females weigh 10–15 kg (22–33 lb) and have a body length of
40–45 cm (16–18 in). The tail adds a further 40–60 cm
(16–24 in) to the length, and ends in a small tuft. Infants are dark in
coloration and lighten after about one year. Hamadryas baboons reach sexual
maturity at about 51 months for females and between 57 and 81 months for males
(Wikipedia).

The baboon's range extends from the Red Sea in Eritrea to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Baboons
are also native to and live in southwestern Arabia, in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The
Arabian or Hamadryas baboon lives in semi-desert areas, savannas and rocky
areas, requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. The hamadryas baboon
is omnivorous and
is adapted to its relatively dry habitat. During the wet seasons, the baboon
feeds on a variety of foods, including blossoms, seeds, grasses, wild roots, and
leaves from acacia trees. During the dry season, the baboons eat leaves of
the Dobera glabra and sisal leaves. Hamadryas baboons also eat insects,
reptiles and small mammals. One was even observed carrying a dead dik dik
(Wikipedia). The baboons’ drinking
activities also depend on the season. During the wet seasons, the baboons do
not have to go far to find pools of water. During the dry seasons, they
frequent up to three permanent waterholes. Baboons will take siestas at
the waterholes during midafternoon. Hamadryas baboons will also dig drinking
holes only a short distance from natural waterholes (Wikipedia).

The baboon has an unusual four-level social system
called a multilevel society. Most social interaction occurs within small groups
called one-male units or harems containing
one male and up to ten females which the males lead and guard. A harem will
typically include a younger "follower" male who may be related to the
leader. Two or more harems unite repeatedly to form clans. Within
clans, the dominant males of the units are probably close relatives of one
another and have an age-related dominance hierarchy. Bands are the next
level. Two to four clans form bands of up to 200 individuals which usually
travel and sleep as a group. Both males and females rarely leave their
bands. The dominant males will prevent infants and juveniles from interacting
with infants and juveniles from other bands. Bands may fight with one another
over food, etc., and the adult male leaders of the units are usually the
combatants. Bands also contain solitary males that are not harem leaders
or followers and move freely within the band. Several bands may come together
to form a troop. Several bands in a troop also often share a cliff-face where
they sleep (Wikipedia).

Khalaf-von
Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam (1994). An Introduction to the Animal Life in
Palestine. Shqae’q Al-Nouma’n (Anemone coronaria). A Quarterly Magazine
Issued by the Program EAI (Education for Awareness and for Involvement).
Environmental Education / Children for Nature Protection. In Cooperation with
Dept. of General and Higher Education. P.L.O., Palestine. Number 4. Huzairan (June) 1994. pp.
16-21. (In Arabic).